Triggering Discussion Board Contribution

How do you do it?

[henry0]

This site news and business oriented has a PHPBB forum
Site users pay frequent visits and do read my own posts that are news comments or “vent it out” posts all written in such a way that answering or participating in a potential debate seems obvious.
So far I have seen lot of interest but no one “Jumping on the band wagon”

How do you prime the pump?

Regards

Henry

[rogerd]

Henry, it sounds like you are on the right track by posting on topics that would normally spark lively debate.

If people aren't joining in, see if you have any barriers to posting. For example, if you require registration to post perhaps you could enable guest posting (no registration) for a short time to stimulate posting.

If there's a near-total absence of discussion going on, that in itself could be an inhibitor. Consider asking a few friends to post replies to get the ball rolling. (If you are truly desperate, adopt an alter ego and disagree with yourself. ;))

Check the Community Building Library [webmasterworld.com] for ideas on how to jump-start a forum and how to turn lurkers into posters. Good luck, Henry.

[henry0]

Thank you rogerd
I will then call upon the "friends and relatives"
I tried to avoid it but it is indeed a good way
I will also review the link
And will try to widely open the forum w/out registration, which scares me due to spam or XXX stuffs
Well... anyway I am chained to my machines :) so I can act in a timely manner

Henry

[rogerd]

While your forum isn't attracting much attention, guest posting doesn't seem like it is a major danger. The higher your traffic, and the more your forum appears in searches, the more likely that you'll get hit by spammers. For now, I'd say it is an acceptable risk.